The Urban Environment

My local urban environment, is a town in North Ayrshire called Kilwinning. It is largely made up of housing estates as in 1966 Kilwinning rapidly expanded, building new estates on the surrounding farm land to accomodate the increasing population. This increase in population was mainly due to the Glasgow overflow relocation. Since then Kilwinning has continued to expand and grow with its population. It also has a town centre, which contains may different kinds of shops, restaurants etc. In recent years the town centre has been refurbished by the Irvine Bay Regeneration Company. However Kilwinning still has plenty of greenery with places such as Eglinton Country Park, which not only provides lovely views and scenery but it also has a historic background. Parks like this allow people to get physical exercise whilst also interacting with nature.

Here is a picture of Kilwinning Town, which shows how it has been refurbished to look more modern, yet it still manages to keep its historic and ‘old town’ feel.

The main mode of public transport in the town is the rail service. With trains running to Glasgow, Largs, Edinburgh, Ayr and even having a direct train to Prestwick Airport. Kilwinning also has a bus service running as well as excellent road links. Having a wide range of options for public transport helps the environment as it reduces pollution and road congestion and it also reduces the need for building large car parks on valuable land that could have been used in a more beneficial way.

In Kilwinning there are seven primary schools, many of which have nurserys attached, to accomated the growing population. There is now only one secondary school in the town as both catholic secondary schools have now been demolished. However in 2000 a large campus of James Watt College was built in Kilwinning. Its arrival benefitted the town with increased revenue from the students supporting local businesses. It also has three community centres and a library.

In the past Kilwinning had an association with coal mining, quarrying, iron-founding and textile manufacture which has now long since declined. In recent years industries include the manufacture of plastics and electronics. However as previously mentioned Kilwinning also has many different shops, restaurants, salons etc.

In 2002 Kilwinning Sports club was built, this brings together local teams and also encourages both children and adults to participate in more activites. This helps to bring a sense of community to the area. There are also many other different clubs etc that run in the area, a lot of which are held in the Secondary School ‘Kilwinning Academy’. The school having a built in gym not only benefits the pupils but also helps fund the school.

Compared to many other urban areas, North Ayrshire’s population density is very low, with only 155 people per square km. This compared with the likes of Glasgow where the population density is 3,415 people per square km allows you to clearly see the difference in population density.

Also the air quality in my area according to ‘scottishairquality.co.uk’ is only at level 1 out of 10, which is considered to be very low. This will be because although Kilwinning is a relatively busy town it is also right next to the countryside. Having a low air quality is less damaging to peoples health.